Memories of Epping and Our Grocery Store

     Back when I was in the 3rd grade at Epping Public School, our music teacher, Mr. Langseth, taught us a song I've never forgotten. "I love those dear hearts and gentle people, that live in my home town." It was my favorite song to sing in music class because it reminded me of all the nice people I knew around my hometown.  

     During my growing up years in the 1980s, the small town of Epping ND had a population of around 90 people.   Of course there were many farm families that lived nearby that would come into town for school, church, groceries, and gasoline.  I'm not sure they were counted on the fancy government census as part of Epping's "Population" or not, but to me, they were part of the Epping Community as well. 

     Here is the Epping Website.   http://epping.govoffice.com/

I am very proud to have grown up in such a small town. Often times, as adults, we tend to view childhood memories through rose colored glasses, only remembering the best of times and the things we enjoyed most, such as cheering for the Eagles at games, pep-rallies in the gym (does anyone remember the year we had an Alexander Comet bonfire out south of the school?), Buffalo Trails Day, playing ball at the court, or playing video games at Koo-Cum's restaurant. But I'm not so naïve to think that it was ALL rainbows and roses.  There were also broken bones, lost pets, accidents, and a couple of scary fires.  There were tense school board meetings and signs that read SOS "Save our School".  There were kids and families who didn't have much, while there were kids and families who had plenty, but we all got along, and we all played together on the school playground.  But most of the things I remember from that time period are good things, which shows that my parents did a good job of sheltering us from much of the bad and letting us just be kids who didn't seem to have a care in the world.

The house I grew up in was also known as the "Cote House".  It was a big, yellow, Dutch Colonial (that's fancy talk for barn shaped) house that didn't have air conditioning, but it did have a big back yard, where my brother and I spent many hours playing catch.  Once we were a bit older and had bikes, we kids played outside all summer long and all across town.  I think all of the moms and grandmas around town kind of kept an eye on all of us kids.  If we were ever caught doing something we shouldn't be doing (like playing in the old tractors behind the museum) you can bet our mother would eventually find out. 
We ate picnic lunches on the Lutheran Church lawn during Bible School, rode our bikes on the gravel streets and main street's sidewalk.  There was that little bump on the sidewalk right next to the tire elephant, and if you hit that at just right angle with your bike you could catch a little air.  We played in Tire-Ville, but I never dared to climb to the wall of tires that looked a kin to something you'd have to do in basic training.  At school Mrs. Smith taught us to play "fox and geese" in the snow, and in the spring we'd play marbles in dirt, sheltered in a corner of our brick walled school house.  We played on the old fashioned, metal slide that would be hotter than blazes on a hot, sunny day. (how we didn't end up with 2nd degree burns is beyond me), and would climb all over that big tree just north of the school's parking lot.  I can even remember, towards the end, smuggling white chalk out of the classroom and a bunch of us writing on the reddish brown bricks of the school. 

On Halloween we could ring the doorbell on every porch in town because we knew everyone.  One precious older lady, who lived near the overpass, would even hand out popcorn balls!  Mr. and Mrs. Marrow, who lived over the overpass, on the outskirts of town, would give us silver dollars which were like treasure to us (I still have mine).

On lazy, summer afternoons we'd walk down the alley and through the back gate to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Often times we'd find them in the garden where we'd help pick peas, strawberries or raspberries (careful of the spiders).  

We kids would catch bull heads from the creek, garter snakes, and rain in pots pans for my mother's house plants. 

Growing up in Epping in the 1980's was a little growing up in some kind of mid-century "time-warp" (but in a good way).  Main street is still lined with museum buildings, that look much the same as they did in the early 1900s, full of antiques, local history, and so many memories.  Back in the early 80s we even had a real nice gas station attendant, Mr. Aamond I think his name was, that would come out of the garage to fill our car with gas and wipe the windows for my mother. We had a post office with antique boxes that opened with a two-knob combination.  And if you were too little to reach your family's box the post master would just smile and give you your mail right through the postmaster's window. 

 

As a child I can remember walking the 2 long blocks north to the Friendly Village Market.  At that time it was owned by Lyle and Dorothy Westphal.  I remember Lyle as having the patience of a saint. My brother and I had a habit of bringing our 35 cents up to the candy counter then taking at least 10 minutes to decide what kind of candy to buy. 

If I recall, the entryway and door were set at an angle, and the screen door was the kind that had a spring and a real screen door "slam" to it, and there was always some kind of tobacco or cigarette advertisement in the little advertisement spot on the door...Virginia Slims maybe?  The first aisle that ran along the large, west windows is where I recall the big bags of softener salt, and big bags of dog food being, along with soap and household type of supplies.  Round about the center of the store there was a small display shelf of greeting cards and near that a large floor grate that was most likely for heating, as the furnace was in the basement.  Near the cards, there was a small case of jewelry and inside was a beautiful butterfly necklace made of different colored rhinestones.  I can remember looking at that butterfly thinking it was the most beautiful thing in the world.  Then one day, while on a visit to Epping, my Grandma Henderson bought it for me!  I still have it (this seems to be a trend with me...do you think I could have a pack rat problem?)  I also remember there were shelves of cereals and cake mixes in the back corner and a cooler on the very east end of the store that had ice cream treats inside of it. 

But the thing I remember most was the long, brown, front counter with it's cash register and wall of candy behind it.

Here is a link to a site called Two Wheel Journal written by bicyclists who traveled through Epping and had nice things to say about it.  I'm glad they enjoyed their time there. http://www.twowheeljournal.net/?p=3304
I'm borrowing their picture of the building that I remember as the "Friendly Village Market"

This is the building as it stands today.  I hope someone is working to restore it. 

Here is the building long ago, possibly when it was a hardware store.

Here is another picture of the store with newer sidewalks.  I like the sign.  But I do not know what that metal looking box on a pedestal is.  Any guesses?

Here is some information about the Friendly Village Market from my Dad. 

He said that once upon a time, a long time ago, the upstairs room was a showroom for Model Ts.  They had a hoist-type of contraption that would lift the cars up to the top floor.  The building was also, at one time, owned by Fern Miller and a portion of the building was used as a Pool Hall.  I remember reading in The Wonder of Williams books that the Fern Miller family had triplets but none of them survived.  They are buried in the Epping Cemetery and their names are Faith, Hope, and Charity.  I remember seeing their little headstone at the Epping Cemetery and thinking about how sad that must've been for the parents. 
The building was sold to a man named Beachler who owned a hardware store.  There was another hardware store across the street to the south.  After Beachler, Westphal bought the building and continued to keep it as the town's grocery store. 
My dad remembers when he was young he had a paper route, and after he'd picked up his stack of Minot Daily papers at the post office, he'd ride across the street on his bike and pick up a pack of Reese's Peanut Butter cups.  He says it got to the point where he'd just walk through the door and Mr. Westphal would toss him a pack. 
In the basement was the furnace which was at first heated with coal.  Both Mr. Jacobson and Mr. Westphal would have to bank the furnace well before heading home on winter nights to prevent the store from freezing. 
The cash register was at the left end of the counter (left from the customer's perspective) and Dad says there was a large roll of paper and ball of twine to wrap items in.
There was a cooler at the end of the counter with hamburger and fruits and veggies in it and then the ice cream in another smaller cooler.  There was shelving that ran East to West that held canned goods and box mixes, etc.  Mr. Westphal was one of the first to have JELL-O boxed cheesecake mix, introduced in November of 1966, on his shelves, in our area.  They were kept on the first row, top shelf.  He'd always try to stock the latest products such as Life Cereal.  If a few customers liked it, he'd keep stocking it.

I remember that store fondly as well as its owners.  I believe there is a story about my Dad "liquor-treating" one year and Mr. Westphal taught him a lesson.  Instead of giving him peppermint schnapps, he gave him a shot of Scope!  Ha!  (That's a story for another day and phone call, Dad).

Here is an old receipt from the Friendly Village Market from the year 1983.  (Apparently, I come by this whole "pack-rat" thing naturally.)  They would run a "tab" and pay a few times each month.  Apparently, we bought quite a few treats there including Pudding Pops!  They were the best and they don't make 'em anymore!  Why!?

Anyways, I've gone on long enough for one day.  I hope you've all enjoyed my little walk down memory lane.


Have a Happy Day!